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Harris County, TX, September 18, 2025 - Today, Harris County Commissioners Court voted to reallocate $18.8M in American Rescue Plan funding, formerly designated for the county’s guaranteed income pilot program, toward housing, homelessness prevention and food assistance services. 

According to recent data from the Kinder Institute, housing is becoming more and more unaffordable for Harris County residents. Harris County is also experiencing poverty at rates higher than other large counties in Texas state and the nation: Roughly 1 in 5 people in Harris County live in poverty, more than the national average and more than all other large counties in Texas, according to U.S. census data. 

“I’m proud of today’s investment in housing, homelessness and food assistance. The state might have stopped guaranteed income, but they can’t stop us from fighting to lift families out of poverty,” said Judge Lina Hidalgo.

In January 2025, Harris County invested $20.5M in American Rescue Plan funding to create a guaranteed income pilot program, joining more than 80 cities and counties across the nation and other countries around the world that have seen success through similar programs. The program would have provided $500 monthly cash payments to more than 1,900 Harris county families living in poverty for a period of 18 months. Attorney General Ken Paxton sued to stop the program minutes before selected families were set to receive their first payments. 

In June after the State of Texas blocked the program, a majority of Commissioners Court passed a motion to reallocate the remaining funds. $1.7M out of the initial $20.5M had already been spent on staff and case management staff in processing tens of thousands of applications, and so Commissioners Court reallocated the remaining, unspent $18.8M.  

Out of the $18.8M, $8M will go toward rental assistance and eviction defense. That money is expected to help more than 1,000 households experiencing a housing emergency over the next two years. $8M will go toward homelessness outreach and rapid re-housing services including assessing homeless individuals, supporting quick exits from homelessness, and assisting households for up to 12 months to regain stability through rental support and case management. The remaining $2.8M will go toward food and nutrition assistance programs. 

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